Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
Among the first miracles of Christmas was this- these guys who were called "wise men" or "magi," likely astrologers/seers/fortunetellers (NOT followers of YHWH- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) were among the first to worship Emmanuel. God revealed Himself to these men- NOT looking for Him- through a single star, and led them to travel on foot for months to find the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And they travelled, with expensive gifts, until they found Him (with the help of the chief priests). Upon finding Him, they worshipped Him!
During a prayer meeting a few weeks ago a friend prayed something to the effect of, "If You led these men in such a way, to draw our friends and family and neighbors to Yourself is nothing!" His words struck me profoundly, and I've been thinking about them and praying them ever since. There are times when I am so discouraged by the lack of movement towards Christ that I see in people that I love. I begin to wonder what the point of the hours of prayer, the tears, the proclaiming of Truth in word and deed is pointless... nothing seems to change. If I'm honest, I probably even am questioning God's ability to draw people to Himself and transform lives. My friend's prayer was so convicting. The Bible is full of stories of God revealing Himself to folks who weren't even looking for Him and calling them to radically turn from their former lives and follow Him in crazy ways, and He gave them the courage and strength to actually do it. But when I'm looking more around me than in the Word and when I'm talking to God more than listening to Him, I forget and I begin to wonder.
The ridiculousness of the Christmas story is Luke 2:11...
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.God, in the abundance of His love and mercy, sent His Son in unbelievable humility to this world to walk among men, to reveal the Truth of Scripture, to make Himself known, and to die for our sins so that He could take on our punishment and then be resurrected in total victory over sin and death and Satan.
And in the midst of this ridiculous scene, God is doing crazy miracles all around. Like leading these magi to His Son and opening their eyes to see Him as the Savior of the world that they might worship Him. And He did likewise for me, and I've seen Him do it for so many. There is no question, He is more than able to do it for those I love, even when I struggle to believe it. My prayer this Christmas is that people would not miss His coming like so many did that "first Christmas"- as even the chief priests did- but that they, we, would see Him for who He is and worship Him.
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